<p>Prompt: </p>
<p>Knowledge is power. In agriculture, medicine and industry, for example, knowledge has liberated us from hunger, disease and tedious labor. Today, however, our knowledge has become so powerful that it is beyond our control. We know how to do many things, but we do not know where, when or even whether this know-how should be used.</p>
<p>Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit?</p>
<p>Response:</p>
<p>Knowledge can, without question, create problems in addition to solving them. One may note numerous examples of this, such as the development of genetic modification and the science behind the nuclear bomb. In both cases, an excess of human knowledge created problems on a global scale.</p>
<p>In order to bolster food production, genetically modified organisms began to be used in agriculture. Initially, the benefits seemed boundless; more mouths fed with the same amount of land! However, due to this knowledge, the biodiversity across the world is suffering. The nutrition found in foods is declining. Thus, due to more knowledge, a predicament has been created. The repercussions are so far reaching that policy thinktanks advise an immediate halt to genetic modification. Therefore, knowledge is not harmless, one must treat it gingerly for it to have positive effects.</p>
<p>One may note a similar case in the creation of the nuclear bomb. Robert Oppenheimer, while leading the atomic bomb project, noted that the team had created "a monster". Though intended to end a war, the atomic bomb created a precedent which has placed the globe under a constant threat of obliteration. Irrational agents such as terrorist groups, due to the possibility of nuclear power, have grown. From the equations of physics, a crisis has been created that risks the survival of the human race. Clearly, this knowledge of nuclear power has harmed the world.</p>
<p>One may argue that without this knowledge, there would be other problems. However, this does not detract from the fact that knowledge <em>has</em> resulted in harm in addition to some benefits. Thus, with clear empirical evidence, one can say that knowledge, especially an excess of it, has the power to hurt rather than heal.</p>